Lafferty’s arm shines for Widener
Pitcher Josh Lafferty received several recognitions for his work on the mound for the Widener baseball team this year. The sophomore right-hander from Pottstown (Pope John Paul) earned first team Mid-Atlantic All-Region honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association and D3baseball.com.
Lafferty was also an AllMiddle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth First Team selection. He went 8-2 and posted a 2.35 ERA this year for Widener. He struck out 52 batters and in 80.1 innings.
The Pope John Paul grad and three other Pioneer Athletic Conference alums aided the Widener baseball to a MAC title and a trip to the NCAA Mideast Regional Tournament this May. Pitcher Kyle McKelvy (Spring-Ford), catcher Glenn Seymour (Methacton) and utility player Kyle Lowery (Methacton) all saw significant action for the Pride this season and in the postseason.
Philadelphia University sophomore Rachael Tobinus of Pottstown (Owen J. Roberts) was named a Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar-Athlete. In order to qualify for this achievement, rowers had to row in a minimum of 75 percent of the spring races and have a career 3.5 GPA as well as several other stipulations.
Tobinus rowed in the varsity eight boat for Philadelphia University this spring. Another Owen J. Roberts grad, freshman Laina Healy, rowed in the varsity four boat for the Rams this season.
Junior Kasi Sweisford finished up another successful season on the Clemson rowing team. One year after coxswaining the second varsity four boat, the Pottstown native (Owen J. Roberts) was the coxswain for the Tigers’ first varsity four boat this spring.
Sweisford and her boat advanced to the grand final of the Atlantic Coast Conference championships on May 14 and finished sixth.
After receiving College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) All-District honors earlier in the month, Youngstown State’s Sarah Dowd was named a CoSiDA Academic All-America Third-Team selection on May 26.
The Pottstown native (Owen J. Roberts) graduated with a Psychology degree in just three years. She posted a 4.0 GPA this spring, while also batting .305 in 50 games for the Penguins. Dowd also hit 11 home runs and drove in 35 RBI. Dowd still has a year of eligibility and will continue to play for Youngstown State next year.
Freshman Cam Simmons has been a steady contributor for the Virginia baseball team this season. Simmons, of Royersford, was the Mercury All-Area Player of the Year last year at Spring-Ford.
The outfielder has played in 46 games for the Cavaliers this season, including 42 starts. He holds a .268 batting average and has totaled 21 RBI to go with 12 doubles and four home runs.
Virginia is currently hosting in the Charlottesville Regional in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Simmons went 3-for-4 and scored two runs in the team’s opening round win against William & Mary on June 3.
Former Owen J. Roberts pitcher Stephen Muscovitch was part of Millersville’s run to the NCAA Division II baseball championship game. Muscovitch struck out the only batter he faced in the team’s 4-2 win against Lander on June 2, which sent the Marauders to the championship game. Millersville fell to Nova Southeastern, 8-6, in Saturday’s championship game. Muscovitch appeared in 13 games for the Marauders in 2016. He finished the season with a 3.55 ERA.
In her freshman campaign, Lock Haven pitcher Bekah Slattery totaled a 1.62 ERA in 215.2 innings of work. She struck out 187 batters and finished the year with a 22-9 record. Slattery, from Douglassville (Daniel Boone), earned several honors for her performance.
The Conference Commissioner’s Association gave her NCAA Division II AllAtlantic Region/District 2 First Team honors. The 5-foot-5 pitcher was also the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s Pitcher of the Year.
Slattery pitched in both of Lock Haven’s NCAA Atlantic 2 Regional games. She tossed 11 scoreless innings before eventually allowing one run in the 12th and 13th innings in a Charleston. The freshman went six innings and allowed five runs in the team’s season-ending loss to West Chester. She allowed five runs in 18 innings pitched and totaled 16 strikeouts in the two tournament games.
Already the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year, Franklin Pierce junior third baseman Jay Jabs was named a second team Division II All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association on Friday. It is the second time the Schwenksville native (Perkiomen Valley) earned the honor. He also received the distinction last year as a sophomore.
Jabs batted .352 for the Ravens, which included a .404 average in conference play. He ranked first in the Northeast-10 with 14 home runs and 69 RBI. He also went 2-1 with a save and a 2.84 ERA in 6.1 innings of work on the mound this season.
The Ravens advanced to the NCAA Division II baseball tournament, where they fell, 4-3, to the eventual champion, Nova Southeastern, in the first round. Jabs went 0-for-6 with one run scored in the 12-inning game.
Brett Clarke Stony Brook freshman pitcher Bret Clarke earned Rookie of the Year Honors for the America East Conference. Clarke, of Royersford (Spring-Ford), had a 2.19 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched. He finished the season with a 6-2 record.
The Seawolves ended their season with a loss to Binghamton in the America East championship game. Clarke threw six innings and gave up three earned runs in the Seawolves’ 7-6 loss to Hartford earlier in the tournament.
Senior Evan Hammond was part of Temple’s varsity eight boat that competed at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships this weekend for the first time since 2008. Hammond, who played basketball at Methacton, and the Owls finished fifth in their semifinal and were unable to advance to the grand finals.
Hammond helped Temple’s varsity eight boat placed third at the Dad Vail Regatta in May. It was the Owls’ first medal at the event since 2008. Thomas Lang Duke’s twotime All-American javelin thrower Thomas Lang couldn’t qualify for his third consecutive trip to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the NCAA East Preliminary Round on May 27.
The 6-foot-7 redshirt-senior thrower from Royersford (Pope John Paul) finished 16th at the event in Jacksonville, Florida with a throw of 214 feet, 1 inch. Lang finished fourth at the Atlantic Coast Conference championships in the javelin on May 15.